In 2021, the Municipal Association of SC identified restoring civility as a top priority for the organization, and in the time since has offered municipal officials across the state the resources and conference training sessions to help them listen, learn and deescalate heated situations.
In 2022, the message began growing, with at least 12 municipal leagues around the nation joining on with similar projects. Recently, however, the Association expanded its message inside the state with a joint civility initiative partnership with the South Carolina School Boards Association, which serves the boards of the state’s 73 public school districts. The effort will encourage local elected officials, both those in municipal government and in school districts, to adopt a civility policy for their meetings and their interactions with one another.
During the announcement, Municipal Association President and Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon recalled an adage of his father — “we can disagree without being disagreeable” — as he described the importance of the effort.
“We've all watched over the last decade at the national level as civility has, at many times, been replaced with rudeness, thoughtlessness, and even name-calling,” he said. “It seems some individuals have taken that to mean that it's okay to disrespect local government, to disrespect elected officials and our staff, to argue and try to disrupt meetings and challenge every decision. In short, we're witnessing a crisis of civility.”
SCSBA President Gail Hughes, member of the Dorchester School District 2 board of trustees, noted that the partnership gives both organizations the opportunity to help “local leaders serve as models of how to govern best.”
“We can accomplish together far more than we ever could apart,” she said.
Both associations are in a position to promote good leadership at the level of government closest to residents’ lives, SCSBA Executive Director Scott Price said, calling attention to the cross-section of local communities found at any school board meeting — parents, teachers, representatives of the media and other local groups, and especially students.
“As educators, school board members — keeping the focus on students — will recognize a teachable moment when they see one. They know that due to their unique role as school boards, modeling behavior they wish to see exhibited by students is part of their job description,” he said.
Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover said that the two groups coming together, communicating and seeing that they had a common interest in restoring civility to public meetings was itself an example of civil cooperation.
“We hope this partnership will begin a course in our country that will allow us to return civil discourse to the democracies of South Carolina, and eventually the United States,” he said.
Civility resources
The Municipal Association already has a variety of civility resources available online. These include
- the nine “Pillars of Civility,” intended as conversation starters for some of the largest civility challenges local leaders face in their work;
- a resolution that city and town councils can pass to affirm their commitment to civility in local government, including a version they can display;
- a civility pledge that can be used during meetings and on agendas; and
- civility-related articles, podcasts and other resources.